After our investigation of the Red Cross’ work in Haiti, readers have repeatedly asked us for tips on giving. Here are a few modest answers

Earlier this month ProPublica published an investigation with NPR into the American Red Cross' failures in Haiti. We've gotten a lot of questions from readers (including on Reddit) wondering what to do next time a big disaster hits.

What should you do if you want to help? To whom should you send money?

There's no simple answer. And there is no one-stop shop that can answer those questions.

But if you're willing to put in a bit of time, you can be a more informed donor and increase the chances that your money will reach those in need.

Here are a few tips, based on conversations with experts and reporting in Haiti:

Research before you give.

Take the time to read up on your group — this can be as simple as a few Google searches and checking out information compiled by various charity watchdogs. Have there been any issues with management? Has the group performed well in the past? Has it had problems? The answers to these questions can inform your choices.

If you do give, you can demand meaningful transparency.

Nonprofit organizations are generally required to make only broad disclosures about their finances. (The American Red Cross' annual tax return, for example, doesn't reveal anything at all about its Haiti program.)

But as a donor, you can ask the organization you're giving to to make public, detailed disclosures about their spending.

As Haiti aid expert Jake Johnston pointed out in our Reddit AMA discussion, you can also ask elected officials to exercise their own oversight of charities that raise money after disasters.

Local groups or those that have deep local ties can be the best option

One issue that came up again and again in our Haiti reporting is that the American Red Cross did not have significant experience working in Haiti, hindering its efforts to operate in the country. We also heard about groups — some large, some small — that had been in the country for decades and employed Haitians in top positions. They tended to be more successful.

As Francois Pierre-Louis, a political science professor and former community organizer in Haiti added on Reddit, donors can "work with local organizations that are connected with the population. Too often these groups are not even recognized."

So if you're considering giving to a group, it's worth doing a bit of research to see what kind of experience it has in the country in question.

Jonathan Katz, a reporter who wrote the book on the troubled post-earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, argues that it's the time between disasters when the most important work has to be done. From his book:

"Poverty and a lack of local institutions create the shoddy conditions that make disasters deadlier than they have to be...Supporting efforts to give aid directly to local governments, and the goal of building local institutions that operate independently of foreign control, will go exponentially further than cargo planes of tarps and bottled water. It's true that we don't always know what locals will do with that assistance, but that's the point. It's up to them."

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Yet another cautionary tale about official-looking mail- these aimed at service members

An eagle encircled by two dozen red stars and a watermark with the words “United States Veterans Department” — this missive must come from the government, right? Wrong.

In truth, the letter is a solicitation for a “prequalified” mortgage loan from Quicken Loans. But it’s that confusion that officials in the state of Washington say potentially misled millions of active military members, veterans and their families who received this letter and others like it from the mortgage lender last year.

“Their mailings suggest that they are an official government mailing through the use of prominent seals,” said Charles E. Clark, director of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), which brought charges against Quicken Loans last week. “It crosses the line to where the ads imply that it’s an official government mailing.”

The DFI alleges that the solicitations violated several state and federal laws prohibiting false, deceptive and misleading advertising. In addition to the watermark that it claims closely resembles the actual seal of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (see above), the DFI alleges that the mailings contained various inadequate disclosures relating to the financial terms of the loan offer, including deceptive representations of rates and points.

Clark said in an interview with TINA.org that the investigation into the lender, which remains ongoing, started after a consumer forwarded the department a copy of one Quicken Loan mailing.

The alleged violations carry a $500,000 fine. The DFI is also seeking to stop the company from distributing any direct mail solicitations to service members and veterans in Washington until Quicken Loans shows evidence it is cleaning up its advertising. The department said it had warned the company in 2014 about the problems it had found but the company didn’t sufficiently respond.

Quicken Loans, which claims that it’s the largest VA mortgage lender in the country, said in a statement emailed to TINA.org:

While we strongly disagree with several aspects of the State of Washington’s assertions and will address each of them in response to their statement, Quicken Loans has proactively taken steps to ensure all mailings reflect our brand and quality standards.

This is not the first time that Washington’s Department of Financial Institutions has gone after a VA lender for alleged misleading loan offers. In 2012, the department reached a settlement with Flagship Financial Group. The settlement awarded more than $100,000 in restitution for borrowers who were in part deceived by a false affiliation with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Find more of our coverage on not-so-official official-looking mail here.

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Urban flooding which was seen last week in Mumbai has now almost become a regular annual feature

Will it be flood or a stampede next? Maharashtra can expect more disasters if remedial action is not taken immediately.

Urban flooding which was seen last week in Mumbai has now almost become a regular annual feature. Such heavy waterclogging normally occurs twice in one monsoon season. Immediately after the flooding (or some time during flooding) there are discussions on various television channels. During such discussions, there are charges and countercharges by ruling and opposition parties. But there are hardly any engineering oriented discussions aimed at a scientific solution of the problem. This has been going on for the last several years.

I was caught in the heavy downpour of about 1,000 mm on July 26, 2005, at Mumbai. It took five hours to go from the international airport to domestic airport - hardly a distance of about four kilometres. Observing the scenario, we decided to stay put at the Santa Cruz airport parking area and spent the entire night in the car. Since I happen to work in the field of seismic disaster management, I was also asked about mitigation measures for heavy urban flooding. At that time, I had suggested a solution.

This is from the Tokyo experiment. A few decades back, Tokyo was also facing an urban flooding problem. To overcome this, the city's flooded areas were divided in 2 x 2 or 2 x 3 sq km. In these areas, pipes were fitted in holes up to a depth of 300 to 500 metres. Excess water was drained through these pipes which opened into the sea with one-way valves. This prevented sea water coming up the pipe. The initial results were encouraging and the experiment was subsequently extended to other areas.

A similar experiment could be tried in a couple of locations in Mumbai. Afterwards, depending upon results it could be extended to other areas. I had made this suggestion to the chief minister at that time.

During August-September 2015, Nashik would be hosting the Kumbh Mela - the biggest religious congregation which occurs every 12 years at each of its four venues (the others being Allahabad, Haridwar and Ujjain). The Maharashtra administration had been making suitable preparations for this event. It seems that the preparations may not be adequate to manage the movement of large numbers in a limited area during a short time. To provide proper space for the large number of devotees, the administration wanted to cut about 500 trees. But this was not permitted by the National Green Tribunal and this was confirmed by the Bombay High Court.

Shortage of space could probably lead to a stampede, which the Kumbh Melas have been associated with. The first such in independent India occurred at Allahabad on February 3, 1954, which killed about 1,000 people. During the 2003 Kumbh Mela at Nashik, there was a stampede.

The administration is mostly working on conventional methods for controlling mass movement. The first and foremost reason for a stampede is the flow of people in two directions on one road. If there are two roads, separated by at least five metres or more with barricades on both sides to stop crossings, the chances of stampede could be reduced and mitigated.

Stampedes at religious congregations are quite common. During 2003 and 2006, there were three stampedes and two fires during the Haj. The then Saudi Arabian king requested the US to examine the Haj pilgrimage site and suggest suitable measures to mitigate a disaster. A team of US academicians visited the site and watched the video films of all previous incidents. The team suggested that a maximum of five people could stand in an area of one square metre. When the figure goes to seven, the stampede process begins and the deadly effect rises not in a linear manner but in geometric progression. This has been a very significant mathematical finding in rapid movement of masses in a limited area.

How can this mathematical solution be implemented at the Nashik Kumbh Mela? To overcome this, there should be two separate gates and ways for entry and exit. These two gates should be separated by at least five to six metres or more. There should be an electronic counter on each gate and the total number of people who enter and exit should be displayed on the screens of both counters. In addition, the total number of people present in the area should also be displayed. Both the roads should have bamboo fencing to avoid any cross-floor jumping. If an area is full, then nobody should be permitted to enter. This would definitely reduce the chances of stampede. If the ground is too big in size, suitable barricades should be made to separate masses of about 10,000 to 20,000 people. This reduces the chances of a stampede.

Parking and movement of vehicles is always a big problem. To overcome this, it would be better to have the parking place near the main area. Inside the main area, free battery- operated cars may be provided for movement. This would give more space for pedestrians, reduce pollution and would be easy for the police to control the flow of people.

As a member of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) this scheme was submitted by me to the state after it had witnessed a stampede on the occasion of 'Raavan Dahan' on Dussehra last year.

Effective control of large mass movement in a limited area within a short time is the only key to prevent a stampede.

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COMMENTS

shivkumar

1 year ago

Mumbai can be assured of history repeating itself year after year during the Monsoons, including the continues loot of the citizens by the unholy nexus of contractors and politicians all in the name of providing non-existent civic services.